Presidents Day: How the third Monday of February became a federal holiday

How Presidents Day became a federal holiday

It's Presidents Day weekend! But do you know how this federal holiday came about?

LOS ANGELES - It’s Presidents Day and that means a three-day weekend for many workplaces, but do you know what the holiday represents?

While many people assume it’s a celebration of all presidents – it actually came about in the 1800s as a way to celebrate George Washington’s birthday. The first president of the United States was born on Feb. 22.

George Washington’s birthday then evolved into Presidents Day in the 1960s when Congress created the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. The act’s intent was to give more three-day weekends to the nation’s workforce, according to History.com.